


a dance of swords

by techniclr



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route, First Kiss, Fluff, How Do I Tag, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:47:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28441902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/techniclr/pseuds/techniclr
Summary: felix knows he isn't lacking in sword technique, but when he sees his professor wield the sword of the creator mercilessly, he feels an unshakable urge to learn byleth's ways directly from the swordmaster himself.or, in which the blue lions attend the professor's lecture and felix just wants to pay attention goddammit
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	a dance of swords

**Author's Note:**

> hey!! so this is for the felileth zine application (2020)! and shoutout to meg @tastyweeds1 on twitter for the beta ur the best my friend!   
> also follow me on twt @dimivainlovebot ! love u all thank u for reading <3333

Felix was walking to the training grounds to polish his sword, but stopped in his tracks in the doorway. It sounded like someone was inside, hacking and slashing away. He frowned. Felix had hoped he would find the training grounds empty, but it appears he was out of luck. 

He opened the door, mouth already open to tell whoever it was to get lost, but his insult died in his mouth when he saw who it was. 

Byleth whipped around like a hurricane of blue haired fury, sword a blur in his hand as he whipped around to land a direct hit on the training dummy. Felix stared, wide eyed, as he hacked the dummy to pieces and didn't falter a moment before moving on to the next one. In a single graceful motion, he reduced the first dummy to a pile of straw and landed a massive blow to the chest of the next dummy. 

Felix watched with rapt attention. He had, of course, forgotten why he was there at all and crept closer to the scene. In addition to Byleth's grace with his sword, which was hard enough to master in Felix's experience, there was also a merciless undercurrent that accompanied his every move. Byleth danced with grace and fury, a combination of art and hellfire as he rained down upon the straw forces of the Garreg Mach training grounds.

Felix was in awe. Even in his practice, Byleth was unforgiving. Felix's grip tightened on his sword, where it had slackened while watching the stunning display. Why couldn't Felix fight like that? And how could he learn to as soon as humanly possible?

* * *

"Dimitri! What was the proper way to grip the hilt again? Are you awake, and can you demonstrate for us?"

The sharp sound of Byleth's voice managed to get Dimitri to open one eye, his usually serious and stoic demeanor now akin to a sleepy teddy bear. 

"Ah, of course, Professor. I apologize, I was-" Dimitri let out a huge yawn, jaw opening wide like a lion. "Having some trouble sleeping last night."

"I understand, but I would appreciate it if you didn't sleep during my lecture, Your Highness."

Dimitri blushed, flustered, and made his way to the front of the classroom. 

Annette giggled at something Mercedes said, and Mercedes hushed her as Dimitri made his way up. Byleth fixed them with a dead-eyed stare, and Annette whisper yelled "Sorry!" as a flustered Dimitri demonstrated, incorrectly, how to grip a sword. 

Felix ground his teeth. How did he end up in here with these idiots?

As if on cue, Sylvain leaned back in his chair in front of Felix and winked. "What are you doing tonight? Wanna hit the town with me, old chum?" 

Felix seethed. "Pay attention, idiot. I won't save you if this is why you die on the field. Also I'm busy."

Sylvain shrugged. "Ah, whatever. This is what I get for trying to hang out with my best friend, I guess." He fixed Felix with a sad look that he assumed was meant to be puppy eyes, but really just looked like he was going through a quarter-life crisis. 

"Stop that," Felix hissed. "Fine, I'll go with you. Just don't make that face again, it looks like you're going to start bawling."

Sylvain immediately beamed, and the Professor cleared his throat loudly. "Something you'd like to share with the class, Sylvain?" 

Sylvain whipped around, a blinding smile on his face. "Nothing at all, Professor! Felix was just telling me how sad he is that his sword technique sucks so horribly and was asking me for advice!"

Byleth raised an eyebrow. "Is that true, Felix?"

Felix flushed all the way to his ears, feeling like he had just been slapped. He could feel the shocked expression on his face, his eyes wide and his eyebrows raised. His mouth hung open in shock. 

"I don't- He didn't-" Felix sputtered, at a loss for words. 

"Isn't it so sad that Felix felt like he had to come to me for help, Professor? When you, a certified swordmaster, are right there?" Sylvain sighed dramatically, and Felix's fingers itched to wrap around Sylvain's throat. 

Byleth furrowed his brow, thinking. "Well, Felix, if such is truly the case, I do not mind a one on one lesson if it helps you understand the technique better."

Felix, still completely red, could only nod aggressively. 

"Very well then. See me after class."

* * *

Felix paced outside of the training grounds with his hands clasped behind his back, nervous. He'd been taught by Byleth before of course, but never alone. He'd also been to battle with Byleth, but obviously, Felix was more focused on approaching enemies than Byleth himself. Mostly Felix was still intimidated by the picture Byleth painted, a man ferociously ripping apart the air with a sword made for death. It was daunting. 

Distracted, he didn't notice someone walking towards him until they bumped into his shoulder. Automatically, Felix snapped, "You do have eyes, right? Watch where you're going."

"Apologies, Felix. I was just early to warm up."

Felix froze, pacing forgotten as he recognized the voice. 

"I- I didn’t mean that-"

"You know Felix," Byleth began dryly. "You really get prickly when you're worried about something."

Felix flushed. "It-it's nothing," He looked down. "Let's just get started already." He marched away into the training grounds and grabbed his favorite training sword. 

"If you insist," sighed Byleth, following him. 

Felix began with his stretches and watched out of the corner of his eye as Byleth did the same. 

"I thought we could begin by doing some basic movements. I want to see your form, Felix."

Felix felt his stomach twist into knots. It was nerve-wracking enough being alone with the professor, but being watched by his lifeless eyes made a shiver run down Felix's spine. 

Felix gripped the sword in his hand, movements jerky and uncoordinated as he began going through the forms he remembered. 

Byleth watched him with cold, calculating eyes, circling him slowly. He was silent except for small 'hmm' noises he made every now and then. 

"Stop." 

Felix dropped his sword immediately, an apology ready on his tongue. He said nothing, face slipping into a grimace and grip tightening on his sword. 

"I think... it would be helpful for you to watch me first, and then imitate my movements. Do you agree?"

Felix nodded dumbly, ashamed he was being treated like a child. 

Byleth picked up a sword from the rack, weighing it in his hand to get used to the weight of it. He swung it shallowly a few times and then dropped his sword. "I won't hesitate," he muttered under his breath. 

It was as if a switch had flipped. The look in his eyes instantly changed from expressionless and incomprehensible to pure fury. He whipped around, all grace and violence, and went through the sword forms so flawlessly Felix forgot why he had been watching. 

Byleth turned to him, panting, the steely look in his eyes slowly returning. "Did that help?"

Felix grunted. "Uh, not really. It would be more helpful if... you could go through the forms at a... lesser speed, maybe."

Byleth's face softened, and a small smile graced his usually stoic features. "Ah, you're really putting me to work here, Fraldarius. But first-" Byleth turned away, shrugging off his jacket and uniform top, so he was left shirtless. He turned back to Felix, and Felix almost gasped out loud at how many scars covered his teacher's well-muscled chest. 

But it wasn't just the scars that had made Felix want to gasp. Byleth was... stunning. His dark blue hair matched with his blue eyes and contrasted with the pale skin of his chest nicely. His hair curled at the nape of his neck, and Felix watched the muscles in his back shift as he worked out a sore spot in his arm.  _ Beautiful _ , Felix thought to himself. 

Wait, what?  _ Snap out of it _ , Felix thought to himself angrily.  _ He's your professor.  _

But Felix watched sweat drip down the center of Byleth's chest and followed his sharp jawline to the line of his throat, a pale column that looked ever so inviting. 

Fuck. He was really in this now. Was he really crushing on his own professor?

"Okay, how about this. Come here."

Felix looked at him, wide-eyed, and waited for Byleth to beckon him again before coming. 

Byleth positioned himself behind Felix, and wrapped his hands around Felix's wrists. Saints, Byleth was strong. And firm. And smelled good, like sweat and hard work and something else fragrant... tea leaves? Faintly, Felix heard a little voice in his head yelling at him to stop smelling his professor. 

"Now, move with me but don't resist me." Sweat pricked under Felix's collar at Byleth's choice of words. "Swords are weapons of art and grace, not strength. You know that better than anyone." His words rumbled through Felix's body, and suddenly Felix realized how close together they were. If he was nervous before, he was losing it now. 

Byleth began to move, slowly, and his bare chest grazed Felix's back and Felix sucked in a sharp breath. 

"I'm sorry," Felix gasped. "I'm sorry, I just remembered I had to, uh, do something important. So I have to go. Uh, now." Felix scrambled away from Byleth, grabbing his things in a rush. "I have to.. yeah. So, yeah." He began to make his way towards the door. 

“Felix, wait. I see something distressed you. Whatever I did to upset you, I apologize.”

Felix gritted his teeth. “You didn’t do anything. I just- I can’t right now.” Even to his own ears, his voice sounded miserable. 

“So I assume you’re not up for a little spar?”

Felix perked up instantly. That sly bastard. 

Lazily, Felix turned around with his arms crossed. “I know what you’re trying to do. And I accept. It’s the only way to figure out who’s strongest.”

“Ah ah,” Byleth corrected. “Not the strongest, but the better swordsman.” 

Felix smirked, bad feelings forgotten. “The better swordsman it is.”

Byleth sauntered over to the training sword rack, picking one up and tossing it in the air to Felix. Felix caught it with a grunt, twirling it around in his hand. 

Byleth walked towards him, swinging his sword around in his hand lazily, and then suddenly growled and let loose a ferocious strike that Felix barely managed to raise his sword in time for. 

Felix grinned. This is what he had been waiting for. 

They got lost in a flurry of blades, deflecting and dodging and parrying the other. Felix felt beads of sweat drip down his forehead. Byleth was pushing him for all he was worth, harder and harder. 

In a dirty move, Felix tried to step inside of Byleth's guard only for Byleth to predict and counter, twisting the hilt of Felix's sword with the flat of his blade so it clattered out of his hand. 

Felix scowled and opened his mouth to complain that that wasn't fair, but when he looked up Byleth's face was surprisingly close to him and his complaint died instantly. Byleth was holding his wrist in his hand, the other hand on Felix's shoulder. Felix was no better - he was almost completely pressed up against Byleth so from the chest down - they were very close. Upon first glance, one could even guess that they had been dancing. 

Felix was panting heavily, his breaths coming in short huffs over Byleth's neck. He couldn't look away from the blue of Byleth's eyes, all fire and flame that hadn't died out just yet. Felix found himself leaning closer, just to get a look. Oh Seiros, his eyelashes were so cute, Felix thought to himself. 

Byleth was staring right back at him with such an open expression on his face that Felix wanted to look away, but he couldn't. 

"Felix... may I...?" Byleth murmured, hand on his shoulder moving under his chin and tilting it up. 

Blushing, Felix could do little else but nod, savoring the warmth of Byleth's closeness and his rough fingers on his chin. 

Byleth's eyes were half-lidded, and he leaned inwards, gently tilting Felix's face towards him. 

Byleth's lips were soft and he kissed Felix gently, chastely, moving one hand to his hair and one hand to his waist. Felix clung to Byleth, resting one hand on his exposed, sweaty chest and the other to his cheek. His hand burned where it touched Byleth, and Felix couldn't get enough. Felix felt so good, like all of his hidden emotions were flowing out of him at once. He kissed Byleth harder, nipping his lower lip and drawing away to look him in the eyes. Byleth looked slightly dazed, lips parted and eyes half-lidded.

"Huh. So that's what you meant by spar." Felix smirked. 

"I can't lie, I was just looking for ways to get closer to you." Byleth smiled a little. 

"Yeah," Felix said breathlessly. "Me too."


End file.
